Analyst ... read what AB has to say about the Big Bash League this week. Source: Fox Sports
Fox Sports cricket expert and former Australia captain Allan Border analyses why Melbourne Renegades have been successful so far in the KFC T20 Big Bash League and where they might be vulnerable heading towards the finals.
They've been the surprise packets of the competition
Melbourne Stars are the star-packed Melbourne team, and a couple of the Renegades from last year have jumped ship - Brad Hodge, Glenn Maxwell, Dirk Nannes and a few others . So it's really only been Aaron Finch out of the big names that has stuck with them. If you looked at the competition pre-tournament, you wouldn't have ranked them anywhere near where they are now - four from four, and on top of the ladder. They've proved a lot of detractors wrong - including the bookies and us experts - and that's the nature of Twenty20 cricket, it's a very unpredictable game. As far as categorically saying "this side should win because of this reason", it just goes out the window because Aaron Finch comes out and blasts a hundred in the first game to take the game away from Melbourne Stars straight away.
Aaron Finch's captaincy has been outstanding
That's been one of the most pleasing things for me. It's really one of those games that as a captain, it must be more and more difficult because you're always thinking on your feet and need to be a couple of moves ahead. Plus you get fined if you go over time. In a normal game, you'd get a little bit more time to analyse what's going on and try to stop the bleeding or attack in a different way. So that's been very impressive, the way he's used his spinners, rotated the bowling, and obviously with his own form.
Trifecta of spin is the key to their attack
They've got three very good spinners. I wasn't sure what Muttiah Muralidaran brought to the table these days but he's shown that he's lost absolutely nothing. Guys don't read him, he mixes his pace up well, and batsmen simply can't attack his four overs because the batsmen don't know which way it's going. You attack him at your own peril. Marlon Samuels has been a very difficult customer to get away with his variations of pace and Aaron O'Brien has become a very handy T20 cricketer. That trifecta of spin bowlers are all subtly different, but they're all very frugal and the Renegades get 12 very good overs out of them each game.
Finch is their strength - but he could also be where they're vulnerable
What I'm waiting for is when Finch goes early, which will happen. He's hardly missed out so far in the tournament. They've got Samuels who is a very good Twenty20 cricketer as we saw in the World T20 and Ben Rohrer who has been fantastic so far. But their only potential weakness is the fact they've been reliant on getting off to great starts through Finch. What will happen if he goes early - that is the only question mark for me.
The Renegades face one of their biggest tests this week
They've got Perth Scorchers at the WACA and that's a really important game, not so much for the Renegades, but it will tell them if they're the real deal. If they can knock over a side like the Scorchers over there, that means they're basically assured of a home final. I look at the Scorchers' batting line-up and they've struggled to really be consistent, but they've got back-to-back wins coming into this. It will be interesting to see whether they attack that spin grouping for the Renegades and what success they have. The Renegades with their batting might enjoy the WACA pitch coming onto the bat, particularly Finch with those short straight-boundaries.
Momentum is hard to stop in a short tournament like the Big Bash
The Renegades have just got that confidence at the moment. When you get that flow-on effect, it's quite incredible. The rub of the green just seems to go your way. You talk about making your own luck - well that tends to happen when you're playing with a bit of confidence and a bit of freedom.
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